Indian Women Moving Camp 1909

Charles M. Russell made this watercolour, ‘Indian Women Moving Camp,’ and you can really see the flow of the medium, the wetness, the way the colours bleed into each other as a part of the process. The painting is so atmospheric, you can almost feel the humidity rising off the water in this liminal place between earth and sky, with thin washes of colour, like a memory, or a dream. The gestures of the horses, the way their heads bow to the water, are caught so perfectly, with just a few brushstrokes. It reminds me of a Turner watercolour, or even a Homer, but with its own distinct approach to rendering the American West. It's amazing how much Russell conveys with so little detail, leaving so much to the imagination, showing us how art embraces multiple interpretations.